(RICHMOND) - Effective July 1, 2004, the Virginia Department of Conservation
and Recreation will be responsible for implementing the Chesapeake Bay Preservation
Act as the former Chesapeake Bay Local Assistance Department becomes a part
of the conservation agency.

The merger between CBLAD and DCR is the result of legislative budget action
taken during the special session that ended in May and confirmed at the June
16 reconvened session. CBLAD will become an operational division of DCR joining
other program areas such as state parks, soil and water conservation, natural
heritage, planning and recreational resources, and dam safety and floodplain
management.

Implementation of the Chesapeake Preservation Act will complement DCR's role
as the state's lead nonpoint source pollution prevention agency. DCR was also
given new responsibilities in stormwater management as the result of separate
legislation initiated by Governor Warner and passed unanimously by the 2004
General Assembly.

"Although we only learned of this merger a few weeks ago, staff from both
agencies are committed to making this consolidation work as effectively and
efficiently as possible", says DCR Director Joseph H. Maroon. "My
goal will be to see that the water quality benefits derived from the Chesapeake
Bay

Preservation Act continue and that we strengthen dialogue with the affected
localities, building industry and conservation community."
CBLAD and DCR staffs are currently meeting to develop plans to integrate numerous
functions. Those localities under the preservation act should initially see
minimal changes in the technical services and oversight provided by the state.

Scott Crafton will continue to direct the new DCR division implementing the
Bay Act. In addition, the Virginia Chesapeake Bay Local Assistance Board will
remain intact.
"I have full faith and confidence in Joe Maroon and Scott Crafton and their
staff to make this work," said W. Tayloe Murphy, Jr., Virginia Secretary
of Natural Resources. Murphy is the author of the 1988 preservation act that
created the Bay department.

The Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act calls for the state to work with localities
in Eastern Virginia to guide land use and install conservation practices that
reduce nonpoint source, or runoff, pollution into the streams that feed the
Chesapeake Bay. The act calls for numerous local government regulations regarding
land use aimed at benefiting water quality.

DCR has a broad statewide mission that includes technical assistance and funding
to prevent runoff pollution from agricultural and developed lands. The agency
administers the state's Erosion and Sediment Control Act, the newly defined
statewide stormwater management program, the agricultural cost-share and state
nutrient management programs. Other DCR duties include managing the Virginia
State Park and Natural Area Preserve systems, administering the state's dam
safety and flood plain management programs, providing outdoor recreational planning
services, inventorying the state's rare and endangered species, and conserving
sensitive land resources.